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NWRC Research Areas: Aviation

Safety

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Our scientists are working to understand and exploit wildlife behavior to mitigate

wildlife collisions with aircraft, other vehicles, and structures.
Wildlife strikes with aircraft are an increasing threat to aviation in the U.S. and

elsewhere, especially at higher altitudes, away from the airport environment. The

number of wildlife strikes reported to the FAA has increased steadily from 1,759 in

1990 to 259,577 in 2021. Expanding wildlife populations, increases in number of

aircraft movements, and a trend toward faster and quieter aircraft all have

contributed to the observed increase in wildlife strikes. Concomitant with the

increase in wildlife strikes has been greater emphasis on wildlife strike hazard/risk

research as related to management on and near airfields.

Current approaches to reducing wildlife strikes with aircraft primarily fall under one

or more of four categories: 

1. land cover/food resource management, 

2. wildlife dispersal, removal, and exclusion, 

3. detection/prediction of wildlife movements and behavior so that aircraft can

avoid high-risk activities, both temporally and spatially, and 

4. the integration of sensory ecology (i.e., the relevant physiological mechanisms

that contribute to anti-predator behavior) to understand animal reactions to

vehicles, with the goal of developing onboard systems (e.g., lights, paint

schemes, sounds) that elicit earlier alert and escape behaviors in response to

vehicle approach. 

A great deal of progress has been made in each of these areas in recent years,

although key questions remain.

Project Goal and Objectives

Given these focus areas, and considering our collaborators (WS operations, FAA,

Department of Defense, academic institutions), the objectives of the Ohio Field

Station Project are to:

1. Understand/quantify animal sensory ecology and antipredator behaviors to

reduce animal-vehicle and structure collisions. Demonstrated Need: Collisions

by wildlife species with aircraft, other vehicles, and structures present risks to

human health and safety, property, and welfare of the species involved. We

anticipate A) a better a understanding of how animals, particularly birds, detect
and respond to approaching vehicles and objects, and how we can better

exploit animal sensory ecology to enhance detection and avoidance responses,

thereby reducing the frequency of collisions; B) development of a candidate

aircraft lighting system to enhance avian detection of and response to aircraft

approach (a component of the National Aviation Research Plan); and C) a better

understanding of how animal sensory ecology and antipredator behaviors might

be exploited to reduce animal use of target land covers and structures.

2. Understand/quantify the role of sUAS relative to wildlife monitoring and hazing.

Demonstrated Need: The FAA must understand the potential uses and problems

associated with sUAS operated on and near airports; wildlife management is

one of the uses considered and Task 2 under the current Interagency

Agreement between the FAA and WS. We anticipate the development of A)

guidance for the FAA and WS relative to the efficacy of sUAS airframes, sizes,

speeds, numbers, and flight dynamics in hazing operations against select bird

species over target land covers; and B) selection criteria and an associated

ranking system for identifying suitable sUAS platforms and products that can be

used to monitor (both in anecdotal and objective, bias-corrected survey

applications) wildlife using on-and near-airport properties, and considering

current use cases, current literature, target species, survey location, airport

airspace use, FAA regulations, ease of use, availability, and cost.

3. Understand/quantify airspace and land cover use on and near airports by birds

recognized as hazardous to aviation safety, and relative to aircraft traffic and

wildlife-aircraft strike risk. Demonstrated Need: Avian use of airspace and land

covers on and near airports affects the risk of bird-aircraft collisions. We

anticipate A) development of species-specific management plans based on

movements of radio-tagged birds on and near airports; B) transition of seasonal

land cover and altitude use data on and near airports, for select bird species,

into bird-aircraft strike risk models; and C) development of management

methods and tools to mitigate risk posed by these bird species.

Related Links

Aviation Safety (Publications)

USDA Working To Prevent Bird-Plane Collisions (Video)
Wildlife Services work at Chicago O'Hare Airport (Video)

Contact Us

Aviation Safety

Bradley Blackwell, Field Station and Project Leader

Phone: 419-625-0242

Learn More

Learn More About Dr. Bradley Blackwell

National Wildlife Research Center

Ohio Field Station

6100 Columbus Ave.

Sandusky, OH 44870

Learn More

Learn More About Dr. Bradley Blackwell

Team Members

Brian Washburn, Research Biologist

Morgan Drabik-Hamshare (Pfeiffer), Research Biologist

Joshua Hoblet, Wildlife Biologist

Betsy Poggiali, Project Assistant

Bruce Buckingham, Wildlife Technician